Brazil halts poultry exports to China after Newcastle disease case in Santa Catarina

Brazil stopped poultry shipments to China from 19 October 2026 after Newcastle disease was confirmed at a commercial turkey unit in Santa Catarina, an automatic suspension under the bilateral protocol; how much tonnage is affected now depends on whether Beijing restricts the whole state or only the area around the farm.

Brazil's Ministry of Agriculture confirmed on 19 October 2026 that Newcastle disease had been identified at a commercial turkey unit in Nova Itaberaba, in the state of Santa Catarina. The facility was closed and the movement of birds suspended, and sanitary measures are expected to affect 133 farms in the surrounding region. The ministry said it would share all relevant information with Brazil's main trading partners.

The suspension is not a commercial decision. Brazil's poultry protocol with China requires exports to stop when Newcastle disease or avian influenza is detected, and ABPA president Ricardo Santin said the protocol triggers an automatic embargo before Chinese authorities decide whether restrictions apply to the entire state or to a limited area around the affected farm. China took about 10% of Brazil's chicken exports in the first nine months of 2026, according to ABPA.

• Exposure: Citi analysts estimate that Santa Catarina accounts for around 15% of Brazilian poultry production, which is why the geographic scope of any Chinese restriction matters more than the single case itself.
• Precedent: after a Newcastle case in Rio Grande do Sul in 2024, China halted imports from that state; the ban was lifted earlier this year.
• Timing: Brazil was also working to resume exports to the EU after adjusting to new requirements on veterinary drugs, and the Gulf's winter and Ramadan buying window is being booked now.
• Trade flow: a suspension of Brazilian tonnage into China leaves Brazilian plants looking for other destinations and pushes Chinese product toward export markets, both of which move offers in the Middle East and Africa.

Brazilian authorities said there is no food safety risk from the outbreak, and Newcastle disease is not transmitted to consumers through poultry meat: the issue is market access, not product safety. For buyers in the Gulf the practical response is to keep a second origin approved and documented, so that a suspension in one supplier country does not turn into a supply gap. Nau International Food Group supplies halal frozen poultry and frozen meat from HACCP-certified, GACC-registered plants, with halal certificates, veterinary health certificates and certificates of origin issued for each shipment, on FOB, CIF or DDP Jebel Ali terms, and arranges customs clearance and delivery into Dubai and onward across the Gulf, Africa and Central Asia. For specifications and current positions, write to info@naufoodgroup.com.

Source: Reuters, 19 October 2026; The Straits Times, 20 October 2026; The AgriBiz, 19 October 2026.